Blog! Five Fast Things for March 9, 2007

By Bob Vavra, Editor, Plant Engineering

03/09/2007

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1. Asset performance and reliability: Oh, sure %%MDASSML%% it’s a great topic to TALK about. But how do you actually get to measuring and acting on asset performance? The latest white paper now available on PlantEngineering.com will point the way. “The Path to Asset Performance and Reliability” from Invensys can be found by clicking here .

2. Make your voice heard on MES:Aberdeen Group research indicates that the number one internal challenge manufacturers are facing to improve manufacturing execution

3. Education and manufacturing: This sounds familiar: “The U.S. cannot maintain its economic leadership unless our work force consists of people who have the knowledge and skills needed to drive innovation.” That quote was from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates before a Senate committee on labor and education this week. It’s pretty much

a few months back, so it’s nice to know Bill reads our publication. You’ll read more about this message in the April Plant Engineering issue, but it is a topic worth continuing to discuss.

4. Because jobs keep disappearing: February’s employment report from ADP shows a weakening in manufacturing jobs, down 29,000 from the previous month. Not good news, but…

5. Manufacturing growth inches ahead: The latest report from the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI found production declined in the fourth quarter of 2006, but those drops were largely due to cuts in production for housing and motor vehicles. The MAPI report did find growth in production equipment categories, especially in the chemical, electrical and oil and gas industries.

Annual Salary Survey

Before the calendar turned, 2016 already had the makings of a pivotal year for manufacturing, and for the world.

There were the big events for the year, including the United States as Partner Country at Hannover Messe in April and the 2016 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. There's also the matter of the U.S. presidential elections in November, which promise to shape policy in manufacturing for years to come.

But the year started with global economic turmoil, as a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing triggered a worldwide stock hiccup that sent values plummeting. The continued plunge in world oil prices has resulted in a slowdown in exploration and, by extension, the manufacture of exploration equipment.